Diagnosis and taxonomic notes. The original description refers to a light mouse grey
and "quaker drab" insect with a spread span of 30mm, reflecting plumbeous in
some orientation to the light. The forewing has the cell dot, rather small, the
fasciae extremely faint, "suggested in brownish, antemedian not extremely
outbent subcostally, moderately oblique; postmedian from about R2 onward very
oblique inwards, slightly incurved, subterminal scarcely discernible". The
hindwing is concolorous with the forewing, "cell dot rather larger but weaker,
brown rather than blackish; a sinuous postmedian discernible in some lights" .
The underside is similar if less strongly marked. Venation characters led Prout
to associate the species with D. zincaria, D. dentifera and D.dentiscripta.
The holotype male was in the Zoological Museum, Hamburg, and was probably
destroyed by bombing in the 1939-45 war, so its identity is unclear. However, a
male specimen taken recently by Dr John Willott in Sabah appears to match the
original description in all but size (a span of 20mm), and is here taken to
represent D. livens.It has typical Derambila genitalia
(slide 17873).

Geographical range. Borneo.

Habitat preference. The holotype was from Sungei Matang. The recent
specimen is from near the Danum Valley Field Centre in Sabah, both lowland
localities, the latter forested, though logged.